Sleeping with my housemate

Friends sharing the bed – normal behaviour, or just a bit odd? Emily Duffy defends her and her housemate’s sleeping habit.


Sometimes I share a bed with my housemate. Morecambe and Wise-style.

Whether or not this is normal has long been an issue of contention between the other three female members of our household and us. They argue that sharing a bed on a regular basis is done only by couples, and the grandparents from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory– not by two platonic friends.

Let me give you a little context to our arrangement. You should first know that the Gods of Selly have graced me with an incredibly large bed; some may call it ‘double king size’. This means that said-housemate and I are able to starfish without even coming close to touching. There is no spooning, we are both fully clothed and the invite is in fact open to all our other housemates.

No spooning allowed.

I’ve shared beds with my female friends my whole life. From top-and-tailing at your first sugar-fuelled sleepover, to cramming five into a bed after a night out, it’s all part and parcel of being a girl. Uni is like one big long sleepover, so embrace it whilst you can.

Admittedly we did at one point begin to resemble an old married couple. As deadlines loomed last semester, we found ourselves propped up in bed working side by side on our laptops, drinking tea and complaining about the weather.

And then there was the time our housemate seriously asked “have you two ever got off before?” (The answer is no for all those concerned). But it’s always nice to have the company; someone to talk to if you can’t sleep, or to join you in wasting away countless hours in front of the TV.

So whether it is jealousy over my double king size bed or simply the fact they have never tried it before, for some reason my housemates continue to question the normality of our arrangement. However, after months of abuse, we have finally learnt to ignore their harsh words.

In the mean time, as they lie lonely in their cold single beds, we’re off to buy one of these…

So what do you think, is this the norm, or are we just a bit too close for comfort?